Pass Labs Aleph Question

I heard the Dunlavy 4's with a pair of Pass Aleph mono's running either 90 or 100 watts per channel. Nice but nothing special. Later heard the very same speakers with 4 200 watt mono's of a much lesser pedigree and liked them way better. I think the Pass x1000 mono's are amongst the best amps I've ever heard.

I'm currently using Aleph 1.2 monoblocks on Apogee Studio Grand ribbon speakers (with Aragon Palladium II monos on the subwoofers). These run around 5-6 ohms. Prior to my acquisition of the Studio Grands I ran them with Apogee Duetta Signatures (3-4 ohms).

Both speakers have fairly constant mostly resistive impedance curves and the minimum impedances lie right in the optimal portion of the Aleph 1.2 power/impedance curve.

The Alephs are magic on both speakers. The Studios have much better dynamics than the Duettas and the Aleph/Studio combination provides slam as well as sweetness and delicacy.

The downside is that they are space heaters. Each amp pulls a constant 600 watts from the power lines and most comes back as heat. I need suntan oil and a beach chair for winter listening sessions when the A/C is off.

I have an Aleph 5 at the moment driving a pair of Sonus Faber Grand Piano floorstanders. I don't agree that the low end is weak - I think it really depends on the sensitivity of the speaker and the cables used. I am using Audience AU24 speaker cables and Nirvana SX interconnects and love it. Having said that I am tempted by a pair of Aleph 1.2s but I know I don't need them........

I've owned Aleph 0's, Aleph 1.2's, Dunlavy 4's, Dunlavy 5's and Dunlavy 4a's. In my experience, if you want satisfying, well defined, articulate bass response out of the 4a's the Aleph 0's are your best all around bet. Of the Aleph series the original model, the 0, is the most well rounded of the bunch for most speakers. The Dunlavy's, while quite efficient, still needs the amp to take control of the woofers. If you're willing to do without the above described bass response, the later Alephs have a "sweeter", slightly warmer midrange than the Aleph 0. Be prepared for the heat these cubes throw off- the 1.2's being the largest are sufficient to effectively heat a small studio apt.

I owned Aleph 5s and their bass is excellent, but they don't have that iron-fisted slam thing going that some other solid state amps exhibit. As a point of reference, at orchestra concerts do you hear authoritative bass?